Jacket for canned beverages

ABSTRACT

An insulated jacket for cylindrical beverage containers utilizes lower and upper cylindrical body portions of insulating material wherein the upper body portion has an opening so shaped as to enable a person to consume the beverage without previous removal of it from the container. The body portions combine to form a closed-top jacket and have a hinge opposite from the opening and a latch below the opening for detachably holding the body portions in a closed relationship. The jacket thermally insulates the beverage and is reusable. Means are provided within the jacket to compensate for tolerances in both the jacket and the container and still retain the container firmly within the jacket.

United States Patent [1 1 Groendal [451 Sept. 16, 1975 1 JACKET FORCANNED BEVERAGES [22] Filed: Sept. 7, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 395,057

[52] US. Cl 220/90.2; 220/1 BC; 220/9 F [51] Int. Cl. A47G 19/22 [58]Field of Search 220/90.2, 90.4, 90.6, 38.5, 220/31.5, 1 BC, 9 F, 335,,334, 337, 339;

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 2,018,018 11/1971 Germany 215/12 APrimary Examiner-William 1. Price Assistant Examiner--Allan N. ShoapAttorney, Agent, or FirmPrice, Heneveld, l-luizenga & Cooper [5 7]ABSTRACT An insulated jacket for cylindrical beverage containersutilizes lower and upper cylindrical body portions of insulatingmaterial wherein the upper body portion has an opening so shaped as toenable a person to consume the beverage without previous removal of itfrom the container. The body portions combine to form a closed-topjacket and have a hinge opposite from the opening and a latch below theopening for detachably holding the body portions in a closedrelationship. The jacket thermally insulates the beverage and isreusable. Means are provided within the jacket to compensate fortolerances in both the jacket and the container and still retain thecontainer firmly within the jacket.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED SEP'] 6 I975 SHEET 1 {15 2JACKETFOR CANNED BEVERAGES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field Of TheInvention This invention relates to US. Patent Office Manual ofClassification, Class 215, subclass l3, relating to insulating typebottles or jars.

2. Description Of The Prior Art Since one of the most common methods ofpackaging commercial beverages is in cylindrical beverage containers,i.e., cans, there is great demand for reusable individual insulators forthese beverage containers. Characteristic of reusable insulated devicesknown in the art is a two piece insulated jacket taught in US. Pat. No.3 092 277 entitled THERMAL JACKET FOR BEVER- AGE CONTAINER issued June4, 1963 to J. K. Brim, one piece of which can be removed to permitreplacement of the container. These and other similar jackets now foundin the prior art, however, do not permit the beverage to be consumedfrom the container without either removal of the jacket from thecontainer or dispensing the beverage into some type of holder such as aglass. In either case, the top of the insulating jacket must be removedbefore the beverage is accessible. The present invention teaches ajacket which permits the consumption of beverage from the containerwithout removal of the insulated jacket by using upper and lowercylindrical body portions of insulating material wherein the upper bodyportion has an opening therethrough which permits consumption of thecontents without removal of thejacket. Thejacket being separableenablesreuse of it.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 1. General Statement Of The Invention Aninsulated jacket for cylindrical beverage containers having an openingin the upper portion thereof through which the contents of the containercan be consumed without previous removal from the container comprisesupper and lower cylindrical body portions wherein the upper body portionhas an opening of a size and shape to permit access for the users mouthwhereby the contents of the container can be consumed without removal ofthe jacket, the body portions combine to form a closed topcylindricaljacket, a hinge means for joining upper and lower bodyportions, the hinge means being opposite from the opening and a latchfor detachably holding the upper body portion in closed relationship tothe lower body portion. This insulated jacket permits beverageconsumption directly from the beverage container without removal of thejacket. The insulated jacket may be reused since the beverage containeris removable from the separable body portions of the jacket. 2. UtilityOf The Invention The containerjacket of this invention is useful forallowing consumption of beverages from cylindrical containers while atthe same time thermally insulating the beverage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of theinsulated jacket containing a beverage can;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the jacket and beverage can;

FIG. 3 is a frontal vertical cross section of the insulating jacket andbeverage can along reference line III- III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross section of the insulated jacket alongreference line IVIV of FIG. 2 without the beverage can;

FIG. Sis an enlarged fragmentary view of the latch shown in the crosssection of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of the insulated jacket showing the jacket in thecontainer loading or removing configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, FIG.1 shows a preferred embodiment of the insulated jacket 1 wherein anupper body 10 rests on a lower body 20 and forms a hollowed cylindricalshaped shell 1. The upper body 10 and lower body 20 are made ofthermally insulating material, preferably expanded polystyrene. Beveragecontainer 30 rests inside of the hollow shell or jacket 1. The means forsecuring upper body 10 and lower body 20 consists first of pivotallysecuring upper body 10 with hinge 40 to lower body 20. As can be seenparticularly in FIG.,6, hinge 40 allows pivotal, upward rotation ofupper jacket or cover 10 about hinge 40. Hinge 40 is preferably madefrom some reinforced material. i.e., Lamical belting which is an acetateproduct of Cel' anese Corporation of America. The hinge can consist of astrip of any suitable material which is flexible and has a highresistance to fatigue. It must also be of a material which can beeffectively bonded to the jacket. The same material can be utilized forthe hereinafter described latch arm 51.

The hinge 40 is bonded to the lower body portion 20 and the closure 10by a suitable adhesive compatible with both the hinge and jacketmaterials. Such adhesives are commercially available and are well withinthe skill of the art to select.

In the preferred embodiment of the jacket the rear wall of the closure10 at the hinge line is short. Therefore, to obtain an adequate area ofbonding between the hinge 40 and the closure 10, the upper end of thehinge 40 is preferably extended over onto the top surface of theclosure. This provides a strong, strain resistant bond to the top.

Opposite to hinge 40 on shell 1, latch 50 acts detachably to secureupper body 10 to lower body 20 so that when latch 50 is engaged asparticularly shown in FIG. 4, pivotal rotation or opening of the upperbody 10 about hinge 40 is prevented. As seen in FIG. 4 and moreparticularly in FIG. 5, the preferred embodiment of the latch 50utilizes a flexible latch arm 51 which is attached to the cylindricalwall of upper body 10. A strip or patch of flexible material such asfabric equipped with a large plurality of loop elements 52 is attachedto that portion of arm 51 which extends below junction 12, which is theinnerface between upper body 10 and lower body 20. A corresponding stripor patch of material comprising a plurality of hook elements 53 isaffixed to the external surface of lowerjacket 20. The loops 52 and hookelements 53 are resilient and deformable and when pressed togetherbecome removably entangled, securing latch 50 and thus securing upperbody 10 to lower body 20. Loops 52 and hooks 53 can be released fromentangled engagement by positively pulling on the hook elements awayfrom the loop element or vice versa. The loop and hook fabric elements52 and 53 are available under the trademark Velcro, more specificdetails of which may be had from US. Pat. No. 2 717 437 entitled VELVETTYPE FABRIC AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME issued Sept. 13, 1955 to Georgede Mestral and US. Pat. No. 3 114 951 entitled DEVICE FOR JOINING TWOFLEXIBLE ELEMENTS issued Dec. 24, 1963 to George de Mestral. Thematerial is hereinafter referred to as Velcro loop material and Velcrohook material, a product of American Velcro, Inc.

The patches 52 and 53 can be small since a small area of interfacebetween the loops and hooks will provide an adequate attachment betweenthe upper and lower body portions of the jacket. The patches may be secured by any suitable adhesive. The particular adhesive selected willdepend upon the base material. For example, if the latch arm is fabric,the adhesive for the patch would be different from that which would beused if the latch arm is a vinyl. If the jacket is of foamed polystyrenean adhesive compatible with this material must be used. Such adhesivesare commonly available on the market and the choice of a suitableadhesive requires only a review of technical data on adhesives.

In order to make the beverage container readily accessible to insertionand removal and to facilitate proper meshing of upper body to lower body20, a means for indexing the body portions to each other is incorporatedin this invention. In the preferred embodiment, the line of separation12 forms an angular plane through shell I, particularly shown in FIG. 4.By so doing, upper body 10 and lower body have a preferred alignment inwhich latch 50 and hinge 40 are opposite from one another, when the bodyportions are meshed to form junction 12. Another means forpreferentially aligning the upper and lowerjacket could also incorporatethe use of one or more indentions and projections between upper body 10and lower body 20.

Jacket opening 11 along the top of the insulator, as seen in FIG. 2,conforms generally with the pie-shaped container opening 31. Jacketopening 11 also extends downwardly along the cylindrical wall of upperjacket or closure 10 in general alignment with container opening 31 soas to allow ready accessibility of the opening 31 to the users mouth. Asseen in FIG. 1, the opening 11 is generally diamond-shaped. Such agenerally diamond-shaped opening may be used with almost any shape ofpresently commercially available container opening, i.e., triangular,circular, etc. If the container is the type requiring two openings inthe top, i.e., one serving as a vent and the other for discharging theliquid, as shown in FIG. 2 in phantom. the opening 32 would have airsupply because of the space created by the chime 33.

The air passage between container and upper body 10 in the embodimentshown, traps air which aids in thermally insulating the beveragecontainer. In another embodiment, seals might also be utilized aroundcontainer opening 11 and along junction 12 so as to render the jacketessentially air tight when the container is inserted and the jacket isclosed.

The maximum width of the opening 11 is along the juncture 16 between thetop and sidewalls of the closure. This arrangement provides maximumaccess to the container opening 31 while exposing a minimum area of thecontainer surface, thus minimizing thermal transfer. Jacket opening 11in the preferred embodiment is generally placed along the center planeof the insulator as formed through latch 50 and hinge shown by referenceline IV-IV in FIG. 2.

A disc of resilient padding 60 is mounted in the bottom of the jacket.The disc may be of any suitable spongy material such as foam rubber orurethane. It may be secured to the jacket by a suitable adhesive or itmay be left detached so it can be readily removed to facilitate cleaningthe jacket.

OPERATION To insert or remove a beverage container from the insulatedjacket of the embodiment shown in the drawings, latch is released bydisentangling of the Velcro loops 52 and Velcro hooks 53. As shown inFIG. 6, the upper jacket 10 is then pivoted upwardly about hinge 40 toprovide unobstructed access to the lower body 20 and permitting removalof or replacement of container 30. The container opening 31 in thebeverage container 30 is approximately lined up by the user along thecenter plane between hinge 40 and the Velcro hooks 53. After approximatealignment of container 30 between hinge 40 and Velcro hooks 53, upperbody 10 is pivoted downwardly about the hinge 40 to close the jacket.Because of the angle of junction 12, the latch arm 51 will beautomatically aligned with the Velcro hooks 53. Pressure on arm 51behind Velcro loops 52 will secure the Velcro loops 52 with the Velcrohooks 53, thus securing upper body 10 and lower body 20.

The pad forms a resilient biasing means which urges the containerupwardly. The space between the top of this pad and bottom face of theclosure is slightly less than the height of the container 30. Thus, whenthe lid or closure 10 is closed the container is pushed downwardlyagainst the pad 60. This forces the container to seat firmly against theclosure 10 preventing the container from shifting lengthwise of thejacket or rotating to misalign the openings 31 and 11.

It will be understood that the various changes, details, materials,steps and arrangements of the parts, which have been herein describedand illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may bemade by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of theinvention as expressed in the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An insulated jacket for removably receiving cylindrical beveragecontainersof the type from which the contents can be consumed bydrinking directly from an opening in one end of the container, saidjacket comprising: a lower cylindrical body portion of insulatingmaterial, an upper cylindrical body portion of insulating material, saidupper body portion having an opening thcrethrough having a maximum widthalong the juncture of its side wall and top wall, said opening extendinginto both said side and top walls and being of a size to provide accessfor the users mouth whereby the contents of the container can beconsumed without removal of said jacket, said body portions combining toform a substantially closed-top cylindrical jacket, hinge means forjoining said upper and lower body portions, said hinge means beingopposite from said opening; a latch for detachably holding said upperbody portion in closed relationship to said lower body portion.

2. The insulated jacket for cylindrical beverage containers of claim 1wherein the junction of the upper and lower cylindrical bodies forms anangular plane through said insulated jacket, the maximum spacing of saidplane from the juncture of the side and top walls of said upper portionbeing opposite from said hinge.

3. The insulated jacket for cylindrical beverage con

1. An insulated jacket for removably receiving cylindrical beveragecontainers of the type from which the contents can be consumed bydrinking directly from an opening in one end of the container, saidjacket comprising: a lower cylindrical body portion of insulatingmaterial, an upper cylindrical body portion of insulating material, saidupper body portion having an opening therethrough having a maximum widthalong the juncture of its side wall and top wall, said opening extendinginto both said side and top walls and being of a size to provide accessfor the user''s mouth whereby the contents of the container can beconsumed without removal of said jacket, said body portions combining toform a substantially closed-top cylindrical jacket, hinge means forjoining said upper and lower body portions, said hinge means beingopposite from said opening; a latch for detachably holding said upperbody portion in closed relationship to said lower body portion.
 2. Theinsulated jacket for cylindrical beverage containers of claim 1 whereinthe junction of the upper and lower cylindrical bodies forms an angularplane through said insulated jacket, the maximum spacing of said planefrom the juncture of the side and top walls of said upper portion beingopposite from said hinge.
 3. The insulated jacket for cylindricalbeverage containers of claim 1 wherein the lower cylindrical bodyportions contains a resilient pad at the bottom thereof for pressing thecontainer against the upper body portion when said upper body portion isclosed and latched for holding the container against both rotational andaxial slipping.